U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,838,968 and 4,954,202 disclose a method and apparatus for making V-grooved insulation from rigid material. As disclosed therein, a rigid, or semi-rigid board, such as mineral wool, is carried by a conveyor through a series of steps wherein a backing material is applied to one surface of the board and the opposite surface of the board has a series of V-grooves defined in the board and extending up to but not severing the backing layer. The disclosed apparatus and process permits the manufacture of V-groove insulation wherein the spacing of the V-grooves can be varied and controlled based on the particular application. An advantage results because the so-modified insulation boards can be made to confirm to a curved surface.
It would be desirable to provide V-grooved insulation amenable for bonding or adhering a protective jacketing, as well as to provide pre-attached protective jacketing to a V-grooved insulation member (thereby forming a V-grooved composite structure), which in combination, can provide improved protective jacketing properties, as compared to the current state of the art. In addition, decreased costs and installation times result from a V-grooved composite structure as only one installation step is necessary. Known grooved insulation members lack protective jacketings and thus have to be fit with the jackets in the field. Furthermore, known grooved insulation members are not manufactured so as to securely bond with protective jacketings.
Typically, protective jacketings are not adhered to industrial insulation, the two are simply fastened or banded together. This is because most industrial insulation is friable, dusty, brittle and fibrous in nature. These characteristics do not allow for direct bonding of the insulation to a protective jacketing. Therefore, the installation process is inherently slow, as the protective jacketing cannot be installed without first installing an insulation around a pipe or piece of equipment. In addition, when the insulation and protective jacketing are fastened together, gaps, however miniscule, remain between the insulation and protective jacketing. The movement of the jacketing prevents an air tight seal and therefore opens the possibility for water or water vapor, or other electrolytes, to be absorbed or condensed onto the insulation, leading to corrosion under insulation (CUI). It would be desirable to provide insulation amenable for bonding or adhering uniformly to a protective jacketing. This would allow application of a protective jacketing in a factory setting, which would dramatically decrease installation time (and cost) in the field (e.g., by reducing tools, labor and materials).
The present invention addresses this and other needs in the art.